LGBT Activists Discuss Solutions to Bronx Intolerance

By Kristen Gwynne

Through a series of town hall meetings and other public activities, advocates and organizers are working to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender tolerance in the Bronx, a borough that gained a bad reputation for its intolerance last fall when a group of young adults in Morris Heights were arrested for viciously beating and sodomizing two youths and another man because they suspected the victims were gay.

On May 31, at a town hall meeting at the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, Bronx Community Board 7 and other local community organizers pinpointed lack of advertisement, religion, cultural bias and low socio-economic status as the main causes of the borough’s LGBT intolerance. To navigate these obstacles and improve the borough’s reputation, attendees and panelists suggested working with the police and increasing LGBT awareness, especially in notoriously anti-gay communities.

No Room For Pork in Cuomo's Budget

It's a political practice as well-established as candidates kissing babies: a local legislator shows up at a senior center or an elementary school, giant check in hand, to announce that he'll be funding a daily meals program or buying new uniforms for the spring soccer team.

There's a photo-op and everyone leaves feeling good--the politician gets to be the hero, and the local organization gets some much-needed money.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's bare-bones budget for this fiscal year, approved March 31, contains no funding for new member items--the public money given to state senators and assembly members that allows them to hand out all those big checks in their respective districts. These discretionary funds, or "pork," have often been criticized as wasteful spending, and for a few politicians, have been a source of scandal.

But local legislators say the loss of member item money will, ultimately, only hurt their communities; that the ones taking the hit are the local organizations and services that rely on support from elected officials to stay afloat.

"Local legislators know the needs of their districts better than faceless bureaucrats in Albany," said Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, in an e-mail. "The groups I fund -- youth programs, senior centers, arts and music groups and others -- all play a valuable role in our community and its quality of life."

Summer Youth Employment Cuts Hit Bronx Hard This Year

Cuts to Summer Youth Employment from Bronx News Network on Vimeo.

Bronx News Network executive editor Jordan Moss recently caught up with Bob Altman, the associate director of the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, to talk about how cuts to the city's Summer Youth Employment Program are affecting teens and organizations here in the Bronx.

Summer Youth Employment, a program run by the city's Department of Youth and Community Development which sets teens up with summer jobs, has seen it's budget whittled away over the past few years. Watch the video above for more.

Community Centers Hit Hard By Govt. Budget Cuts

By JEANMARIE EVELLY

Major cutbacks in government spending, on both the local and federal level, have left several community centers in the northwest Bronx struggling to make ends meet this year.

Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (MMCC) in Norwood, which runs dozens of after-school sites, a senior citizen center, and other programs serving more than 28,000 Bronxites each year, has been appealing to neighbors for donations over the last few months in an effort to keep the center afloat.

“Bottom line, we are probably close to a million dollars in cuts,” said Executive Director Donald Bluestone. “We’ve been closing programs, laying off staff. It’s a serious problem.”
MMCC relies largely on funding from legislators and government agencies that have seen their budgets slashed in the face of ballooning deficits.

“The staff here didn’t have a raise last year, and we’re probably looking at the same situation this year,” Bluestone continued. “It’s just a very bad time.”

The center is losing out this year on federal funding in the form of member items or earmarks — money provided by legislators to projects or organizations in their home districts — an act banned this year by Congress in an effort to cut back on spending.

Bronx Health: Teen Fitness Program Wins $20,000 Grant to Expand

With more funding, the B'N Fit program at the Bronx's PS 8 will expand and work to incorporate the whole family.

On a recent Tuesday afternoon, about a dozen teenagers darted back and forth across the gymnasium at PS 8, their sneakers squeaking on the polished floors. Running drills were followed by several minutes of jumping jacks, then a game of basketball. Despite what looked like rigorous exercise, the kids were joking and smiling.

The teens are part of “B’N Fit,” a year-round intensive fitness program run by Montefiore Medical Center and the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center that aims to help adolescents lose weight and embrace a healthy lifestyle.

This month, the program scored $20,000 from the Coca-Cola Foundation to expand its service — part of a $300,000 pot of funds that the beverage company gave out to organizations this year in the form of “Healthy Active Living” grants.

“This program is really a program that combines medical expertise with community service,” said B’N Fit Director Dr. Jessica Rieder, at a check presentation ceremony on Nov. 23.

Things Going Smoothly At Local Polls

Polls opened this morning at 6 for today's general election, and things seem to be going a lot better than they did during the September primary, when a new, scanner-based voting system caused confusion and minor chaos for voters and poll workers alike (Mayor Bloomberg called the Board of Election's performance that day a "royal screw-up.")

"The first time, it was crazy," said Enrique Cruz, a poll coordinator at St. Brendan's School on East 207th Street in Norwood. Things today, he said, are much better. Voters and workers are more familiar with the new machines. "So far, everything is going fine."

The scene at St. Brendan's was fairly quiet, with just a handful of people there to cast their ballots. One of the site's four scanner machines was down, but Board of Elections officials were on their way to fix it. Poll workers were running low on pens to give out (the new ballots require voters to fill in their choices by hand, like a high school scantron test) because voters kept taking off with them, Cruz said.

Voter turnout was steady this morning at the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, on DeKalb Avenue.

There was a bigger crowd at Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, on DeKalb Avenue, and workers there agreed that things were running much more smoothly than they did in September.

"This is much, much better," said poll coordinator Marie Sparks, who said the site has been busy all morning, the turnout steady. By noon, about 60 people had cast their ballots. "And it's still early," Sparks said. "We've still got nine more hours to go."

Workers at both sites expect things to get busiest around 5 or 6 p.m., as people are coming home from work. Polls close tonight at 9.

Mayor Bloomberg, meanwhile, is checking up on potential polling problems via twitter, asking voters to tweet their experience and tag them with the hashtag #nycvotes. You can always go the tradtional route, too, and report any problems by calling 311.

Has anyone voted today? What was your experience like? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.

B'N Fit 5K Walk-A-Thon, This Saturday

The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore and the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center are hosting a 2 mile walk-a-thon on Saturday, May 22nd from 8 to 10 a.m.

The event is being organized by the hospital's Division of Adolescent Medicine's B'N Fit Program, which aims to address adolescent obesity and engage teens in combating it. It's $10 to register, and all fees and donations help fund the program.

Participants will meet at The New York Botanical Gardens at Kazimiroff Boulevard, Mosholu gate entrance. For more information, contact Elicia (718) 920-2232 or BNFIT@montefiore.org or go here to register: http://giving.montefiore.org/bnfit

A Bright MMCC Baseball league Parade

April 10th, unlike last year, a bright, sunny, crispy cold Saturday morning played host to the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center Baseball season opening parade. MMCC's megaphone welding high energy Bob Altman, led the participants who started at 3450 Dekalb Ave. The parade went north on Jerome Ave then made a left into wooded Van Cortlandt park, finally ending at a lush green baseball field. State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, City Council member Oliver Koppell walked with the little leaguers and pitched the ceremonial opening balls. As always, it was a pleasure making photographs of my neighbors, I hope you enjoy the slide show.

Please click on the photos to view them larger with captions. Not all photos have names, if you leave me information in the comments, I'll add it to the photo captions.

'Bursting with Pride' -- Mosholu Montefiore Community Center fundraiser -- on May 13

The Bronx News Network is a media sponsor of the annual "Bursting with Pride" celebration/fundraiser put on by the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (MMCC), the primary social and recreational hub in Norwood.

We would like to encourage all of our readers to join the celebration. It will be fun and contribute to a good cause.

Proceeds from the event will go toward funding the invaluable programming that the community center provides, often at no cost or low cost, to the local residents it serves. In addition to Norwood, MMCC serves several other neighborhoods through its satellite locations. Due to budget cuts at the city and state level, the community center needs as much help as it can get to continue to provide the programming it has provided since 1942.

The event will be held Thursday, May 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lehman College Music Building, 250 Bedford Park Blvd. 

For more information on tickets and sponsorships, call (718) 882-4000, ext. 317 or for more information on the Community Center, visit mmcc.org.

MMCC Baseball league opening weekend.

April 4th, the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center Baseball & Softball League season opening day parade took place on a cold, damp, grey and blustery Saturday morning. In contrast to the weather, the participants were bright, charged up and overflowing with enthusiasm. Bob Altman with his megaphone energy made sure that even the weather could not rain on their parade. The parade started at 3450 Dekalb Ave and ended at Clinton High School's baseball field via Gunhill road and Jerome Ave. Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz walked with the children and their families. Council member Oliver Koppell arrived at the baseball field just as the parade got there.
In contrast to Saturday, a Bright Sunday afternoon at the Indian field witnessed the last baseball game for the weekend. The game was between 11 to 12 year old boys. Cardinals lost to the Pirates 16-1. As always I enjoyed making the photographs. I hope you enjoy them too.

Bronx News Roundup Dec. 17

NY1 looks back at the biggest Bronx stories of 2008.

A devastated South Bronx block, a throwback to the turbulent 1970s, is the backdrop for an intricate - and unusual - nativity scene.

Tom Robbins from the Village Voice takes a closer look at dubious political histories of the "Gang of Three" - Ruben Diaz, Pedro Espada, and Carl Kruger - and their efforts to block Malcolm Smith from becoming Senate majority leader in January. Robbins sums up Diaz's career like so:

Rubén Diaz Sr., 65, a Pentecostal pastor from the Bronx, was elected to the senate in 2002 to represent one of the poorest districts in the city. Most of his energy goes toward combating the scourge of homosexuality.

Indirectly, the Rod Blagojevich scandal playing out in Chicago is hurting Espada et al's demands, according to a Post columnist, who also writes that the senators have been given new nicknames ("The Three Indictees" and "Somali Pirates") by Gov. Paterson's exasperated staff. More here.

A Pelham Parkway man, who despite his best efforts has struggled since arriving from Puerto Rico a year ago, has been given $1,500 by Mosholu-Montefiore Community Center, to help pay for back rent, clothes, and a cell phone. The community center is an agency of UJA-Federation of New York, one of the organizations supported by The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund.

A coin design honoring Puerto Rico is to be included in the popular "50 State Quarter" program, much to satisfaction of Congressman Jose Serrano and others.